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Sunday, 4 October 2015

Don't you hate it when you have to face something and learn a life lesson in the process - a lesson you would have preferred to learn an easier way...

I have to tell you something and I am just going to speak from the heart. Yesterday I had to make a decision I didn't want to make. It will probably disappoint a lot of people and I am not the kind of person who ever likes to say no to someone or disappoint them. But see, that seems to be the biggest lesson of 2015 for me - sometimes you have to say no or disappoint someone else in order to put yourself first. I've never been good at it, but I'm learning my lesson real fast this year. Life is actually easier in the long run if we put ourselves first and stay true to our heart.

For the past two years I've written fast and published a lot of books. I've pushed myself hard in order to get the books out that I knew my readers were after. I took a five week trip overseas earlier this year to attend some author signings and when I returned, I put pressure on myself to get the books out that I felt I should have had out to you sooner. Silly me. Number 1 - all I've managed to do is burn myself out. Number 2 - my readers are amazing and I should have had more faith they would wait for me. Number 3 - I've watched author friends go through the exact same thing and struggle (why did I think I would be any different?).

It sucks to have to admit this. But it's okay to admit when you're wrong. It's okay to take a step back when the one you took forward didn't work for you.

Where am I leading with all this? I've been struggling with my next release, Command. I'm not happy with the story. In fact, I keep deleting words and rewriting them. I could force myself to sit and write the words I need in order to publish on time, but that would not be fair to you - it would not be my best work. I've searched deep and I know my exhaustion and stress levels are causing this. I've been making changes to my work schedule for the past few months, but obviously it hasn't been enough. It's time to give myself some space to breathe and think and play. I know the right words will come when I do that.

So after a lot of thought and weighing everything up, I've decided to delay the release of Command.

The new release date will be 18th November 2015. If you've preordered it, your order will still hold. I do apologise for doing this, and I hope you can understand why I had to make this decision.

Where does this leave future releases? I have my writing schedule for the next fourteen months mapped out and I have been smart about it (thank fuck I learnt something this year!) - I've given myself much longer to write and edit each book. I've allowed lots of time for me time, and lots more sleep, and exercise, and time with family & friends. By doing this, I hope it will keep me fresh and able to hit my deadlines a lot more smoothly than I have this year.

While I have all my release dates for 2016 set on my schedule, I won't be announcing a date for each book until it is almost ready to publish. This will avoid this kind of situation happening again. I hope you can understand. However, I will be posting updates as I am writing, so you'll know which books I am working on and how close I am to finishing them which will give you an idea of when they will be coming.